Gameboard and playing cards



July 5, 1955 M. L. MCKEEVER 2,712,446

GAMEBOARD AND PLAYING CARDS 3 Filed Oct. 12, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l r Maria L, McKeever r INVENTOR.

BY ME ni J ly 1955 M. M KEEVER GAMEBOARD AND PLAYING CARDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 061.. 12, 1950 X Km W N44 Marie L. McKeever INVENTOR. F ig.3

BY Altamq':

United States Patent GAMEBoAnn AND PLAYING CARDS Marie L. McKeever, Jacksonville, Fla. Application October 12, 1950, Serial No. 189,803

' Claims. or. 273-135 The present invention relates to improvements in gameboards and cards, and more particularly to a gameboard and set of playing cards which is particularly adapted for use in playing a first game which I call Rhombola and a second game which I call Congo. The board upon which the games may be played is called a Congo Board, and the cards are designated Bombay Cards. a

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel gameboard upon which novel games may be played and which will provide arnusement to the participants.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gameboard and set of cards which may be employed inconjunetion with a set of rules to provide a game which is interesting and requires skill and knowledge of the rules.

Various other objects will become apparent from the detailed description to follow.

The best form in which I have contemplated applying my invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a view of my playing cards showing the major cards of each of the four sets;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the gameboard of the present invention; and

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein h'ke numerals designate like parts throughout, the numeral designates generally a set of playing cards, while the numeral 12 designates generally the gameboard which is adapted to be employed in conjunction with the set of game cards to provide a novel game.

The gameboard 12 is comprised of a substantially rectangular board 14 having a central rectangular portion 16 of the board designating a punch bowl playing area. The punch bowl playing area is outlined with grooves 18 which extend the entire length of the board 14. Transversely extending grooves 20 complete the outline of the central rectangular portion 16. Indicia markings 22 may be provided for designating the area as the punch bowl.

A pair of playing sections 23 and 24 are disposed on each side of the central portion 16 and have inlaid indicia 26 formed therein for designating the sectionsas pool .sections. Grooves 28, 3t and 32 define the ends of the sections 23 and 24.

Patented July 5, 1-955 ice 52 and 54 which have grooved indicia markings thereon designating various numerical values.

The corner playing areas 34 through 40 are divided into a pair of triangular sections 56 and 58 which overlap each other to provide a central diamond area 60. Each of the triangular sections 56 and 58 is provided with numerical indicia 62. Each of the corner playing areas is provided with a numerical indicia different from that of any of the other corner playing areas, and each of the numerical indicia in the same corner playing area is of a color difierent from the other numerical indicia.

lnvthe diamond area 65 a pair of positive indicia markings 64 are provided which are of different colors.

The game cards 10 consist of four sets 70, 72, 74 and 76, each set consisting of twelve cards. The entire pack of cards 10 consists of two' suits of cards of twenty-four cards each, and one suit is known as the blue suit, while the other is known as the red suit. The sets 74 and 76 are the blue suit, while the sets 70 and 72 are the red suit. The red suit consists of two branches 70 and 72 of twelve cards each, the set 70 being the minus branch, and the set 72 being the plus branch.

The blue suit is the major suit, consisting of twelve plus cards with the blue plus sign thereon, and known as the blue plus branch. The blue suit also comprises twelve minus cards with the blue minus sign thereon, and known as the blue minus branch.

The red suit is known as the minor suit, and com prises twelve plus cards with the red plus sign thereon, which are known as the red plus branch. The red suit also includes twelve minus cards with the red minus sign thereon, and is known as the red minus branc The twelve cards in each branch are numbered from 1 through 10, 20 and 25. The three highest ranking cards of each branch are designated by particular symbols. The red and blue plus branches or" the numerical values 10, 20 and 25 bear the clasped hands, the lambs and the doves, respectively. The red and blue minus branches of the values 10, 20 and 25 bear the fighting lists, the lions and the dragons, respectively.

One such game that may be played with the gameboard and game cards of the present invention is as son who cuts the highest plus card deals first. In cutting for deal, minus cards do not count. When two persons out high cards of the same numerical value, as +9 Blue,

The corner playing areas 34, 36, 38 and 49 of the Y board 14 are positioned at the diagonal extremities of the central portion 16 and are outlined with the grooves 18, 2G, 28 and 32. The corner playing areas are of rectangular form.

A plurality of transversely extending grooves 46 and v tions corresponding to his pay-01f cards. only those players who hold Minus Red cards are reand +9 Red, the Blue is the high card because Blue is the major suit. The dealer first shufiies the deck thoroughly. After cards have been shuttled, the player at the dealers right cuts the deck. The dealer, beginning at his left, deals the cards one at a time until the entire deck has been dealt.

THE PAY-OFF #1 Pay-off, number one, considers only the two ends of. the board. The dealer calls for the pay-ofi. Then the players who hold minus cards in the Red Suit must pay off by placing on the board as many tokens as shown by thejnumerical value of the Minus Red (only) cards in his hand. The tokens are placed on the board in the sec- In pay-off #1,

quired to pay.

Example.The player who holds -10 Red places 10 tokens in section number 10 at the end of the board. If

he also holds other minus red cards, as 5 Red and l.

' 4 Red, he also places 5 tokens in section 5 and l token in section 1. All other players holding minus cards in red follow in like manner.

PAY-OFF #2 Pay off number 2 deals only with corners. The dealer calls for pay-oil to corners. The players who hold minus cards in Blue corresponding to the numbers of the corners, that is, 9, 10, 20, and 25, must place an equal number of tokens in the corresponding corners.

Example.-The player who holds 25 Blue, places 25 tokens in :the 25 corner. The player who holds 20 Blue, places 20 tokens in the .20 corner. The players who hold 10 Blue and '9 Blue follow in like manner. v PAY-OFF #3 Beginning with the dealer, each player places an equal nuinber er tokens in the punch bowl. They may place one, two, three, or as many as agreed upon by the play- However, each and every player must contribute ei's.

The amount is agreed upon at the the same amount.

beginning of the game, before the first card is dealt.

Tokens in the punch bowl are collected in the following manner. The challenge begins with the dealer. If he has a punch'combination, he challenges by ofiering a sum of chips, one or more, as a challenge against anyone Who thinks he has a stronger punch hand. The challenge goes around from the dealers left. Each player has a chance to enter into the bidding. If a player wants to accept the challenge when it gets to him, he says I accept. As the challenge proceeds around the board, a player may raise the previous bid if he has a punch combination which he thinks is better. A player who does not hold a punch combination may drop out by saying "Nullof The challenge goes around and around. It stops when two or more players agree to a challenge, and there are no further raises. v a V The raising of a challenge shall stop before all other players become nullo. There must beftwo or more to meet a challenge. p

The one and only time one player may take all the tokens in the punch bowl without, a challenger, is when the original challenger does not get a competitor. He then takes all the chips in the punch bowl without question or exposing his hand. a

The players who have dropped out by saying' Nullo do not add any tokens to the punch bowl. Only those who stay in the bidding and meet the final challenge are required to put the amount bid in the punch bowl. The hands are then exposed. The player who holds the highest punch combination gets all the tokens in the punch bowl. (Use Punch Scale to determine the highest punch hand.)

SPECiAL Nora on PUNCH After the bidding has started, whena player raises a bid, then all other players say Nullo, leaving only one challenger without a competitor, and the bidding drops back t'o where it was before the last raise. Then the last Nnllo's' will be compelled to agree to the last bid a'ccept'ed. v p

Exz' zmple.-Well say that twelve people are playing. Six players have dropped out by saying Nullo when the bidding reached 45. Now, a player whom we -shall a l5 Pa -0s number three deals only with the Pines Bowl. 7

4 H, L' "J and K. Each puts 50 tokens in the punch bowl. The highest punch combination (see punch scale) wins all the tokens in the punch bowl.

NOTE 9N PUNCH The highest bidder cannot raise his own challenge after it has been accepted with no further raises by other players.

, SECOND COLLECTION (Collecting from the end sections) The dealer calls for end collections meaning that all players who hold blue Naturals shall collect. (A Natural is any two cards of the same suit, and same numerical value; one Plus and the other Minus.) Any such combination as +4 Blue with 4 Blue or +25 Red with --25 Red are called Naturals. Any player holding a Blue Natural (Blue only) shall collect all the tokens in the sections at either end of the board where the number correspon'ds with the Blue Natural in his "hand.

Ex'a mple.When 'a player holds a 4-natural in blue, IIlEgDlIlgfll Blue with 4 Blue (21 natural), he shall collect all the tokens from section 4. The player who holds +25 Blue with +25 Blue (a natural) shall connect all the tokens in section 25 at the end of the board. The same applies to all the sections at the two ends 'of the board. Note: Some uncollected tokens will often be left in some of the end sections. there and build up deal after deal until collected.

COLLECTING CORNERS The player who holds the square of either of the four numbers in the corners shall collect all the tokens in the corner where the number corresponds to the four cards in his hand. (A Square is any four card combination of equal numerical value, one from each of the four branches, as +8 Blue, 8 Blue, +8 Red, 8 Red.

Anysuch combination is a Square.

The player who holds the 25-Square +25 Blue, 25 Blue, +25Red, 25 -Red, shall collect all the tokens in the 25 corner. The same applies to the other three corners, 9 10, and 20. When no player holds a square.

'and the corners cannot be collected, the dealer shifts the tokens from the corners to the adjoining pools, The pools will grow after each deal when the corners are not collected.

di'safded all their cards. The first person who discards all missing gets all the tokens in thelargestpool. The second person who discards all his cards gets all the tokens from the next smaller pool. The third and fourth 7 persons to discard get the tokens from the next two smaller pools. 'If all the pools contain the same amount, either pool may be taken.

PLAYING POOL discard is done in the following manner: dealer begins by' discarding to the punch bowl the lowest card in his hand in any suit, any branch, butit must be the lowest card in his hand. The discard shall continue consecutively (in numerical order) until four cards of the same branch have been discarded. The d'e'lerk'e'eps' the punch bowl clean after each four cards have been played. The person who plays the last at the four cards shall begin the next discard in a difie'rent branch. Each time a discard is made, the player call the name of the card. The discard shall Always Be D6n' In' Fours. I

IllllSffdti'OrtS-Whfitl the leading discard is Blue +8, 'it

. shall be followed by Blue +9, Blue +10, Blue +20. The

player who discards Blue +20 shall make the next lead They shall remain V in a difierent branch, as Blue 1 which is followed by Blue 2, Blue =3, Blue 4. The player who discards Blue 4 makes the next lead. When four consecutive cards cannot be discarded for the reason that the next higher card in sequence has been played, or because the discard started high, then the sequence shall break at three cards, two cards, or one card. However, in each case, the person playing the last card in the four-run shall begin the next discard.

Illustration-The player whom we shall call G makes a lead by discarding Blue 3. Blue 4 has already been discarded; therefore no player can follow in sequence. In a case like this, when a discard cannot be followed in sequence, the player makes another discard in a different branch. So, G makes another discard, playing the lowest card in another branch. G discards Red 25 which is the lowest card he holds in the Red Minus branch. Since 25 is the highest card in the branch, no player can follow. Therefore G has still another chance to discard. He then discards Red +2. He also holds Red +3, which he discards. G has discarded four cards. This completes the fourrun.

Since G played the last card in the four-run, he himself makes the next lead, it he can change branches. (If G cannot change branches, the lead passes to the first player on the left of G" who can change branches, meaning a branch diflferent from the last one played by G which was Red Plus branch.) However, G can change branches; therefore he does make the next lead.

He plays Blue 6. Another player whom we shall call H discards Blue 7. Blue 8 has already been discarded, so H discards Red 3. B discards Red 4. This completes the four-run. B who played the last card in the four-run makes the next lead, in a different branch.

Nora-The same rule applies when a player discards four consecutive cards, as Red +1, Red +2, Red +3, Red +4. The four-run is completed and since he played the last card in the four-run, he has a chance to make another lead, in a different branch. The first player who discards all his cards lets it be known by saying Pool. He wins all the chips in the largest pool. The discard continues until four persons have discarded all their cards, winning the chips in the pools from the largest to the smallest.

Uncoilected tokens which have accumulated in the end sections shall be peeled oif in the same manner. Before pooling off the end sections, the cards must be well shufiled before dealing.

The winner of the game is the one who collects the most chips or tokens over the amount he put in the game.

Punch scale 1. Square: Any four cards of equal value, one from each of the four branches, as Blue 20, Blue +20, Red 20, Red +20 2. Quartet: Any four cards of the same branch running consecutively, as Blue 8, Blue 9, Blue 10, Blue 20 or Red +1, Red +2, Red +3, Red +4 3. Triangle: Any three cards of the same branch, when the total of two equals the third, as Red +3, Red +4, Red +7 or Blue +5, Blue 3, Blue 8 4. Trio: Any three cards of the same branch running consecutively, as Red 7, Red 8, Red 9 or Blue +9, Blue +10, Blue +20 5. Natural: Any two cards having the same numerical value, and the same suit, one plus-the other minus, as Red 10, Red +10 or Blue 3, Blue +3 6. Duet: Any two consecutive cards of the same branch,

as Blue 6, Blue 7 or Red +10, Red

7. Solo: The highest single card N are.

In determining the value of a punch hand.

Blue 6, Blue 7, Blue 8 and Red +5, Red +6,"

Red +7, Red +8 Blue is always the higher.

(2) When two hands on the same scale have the same numerical value and same suit but different branches,

as Blue +5, Blue +6, Blue +7, Blue +8, and Blue 5, Blue 6, Blue 7, Blue 8.

The plus branch is the higher hand of the two.

Another such game is described as follows:

Congo PLAYING THE GAME Congo may be played by any number of persons from 6 to 12. However, 8 makes a good game. Players cut for deal. The player cutting the highest plus card gets the first deal. Minus cards do not count in cutting for deal. If two persons cut high cards of the same value, as plus 8 blue and plus 8 red, the blue is the higher. is always the higher ranking suit.) The deal then rotates until each player has dealt. Cards must be well shufiled before each deal.

lylASTER UIT The first step in playing the game is to determine which shall be the master suit, the Red or the Blue. The player at the dealers right cuts the deck of cards. The Red or Blue suit, whichever turns up when the cards are cut, becomes the master suit. This master is the suit which controls the pay-oft" and collection.

been dealt.

PAY CARDS After all cards have been dealt, the dealer calls for the Pay-oil. This means that each player who holds in his hand a minus card of the master suit must pay-off.

PAY-OFF #1 Players place as many chips on the board as indicated by the numbers on the minus cards of the master suit in his hand. Each player places his chips in the sections corresponding to the minus cards in his hand.

IlZustmti0n.When Red has been cut for the master suit, the player who holds minus 8 in the Red Suit places,

8 chips on the board in section 8. The player who holds minus 1 in Red places one chip on the board in section 1.

The player who holds Minus 20 in Red places 20 chips on the board in section 20. If a person holds (in Red) several minus cards, as Minus 2, Minus 3 and Minus 5,

he will place 2, 3, and 5 chips on the board in sections 2, 3 and 5. All pla ers who hold minus cards of the master suit following the same manner until all the sections at the two ends of the boardl, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, and 25, have been properly covered.

PAY-OFF #2 CGLLECTBSI #1 (Use the Punch Scale) Tokens in the Punch Bowl are punched oft". Punch is collected by challenge. dealer.

T he challenge begins with the if he has a punch combination, he challenges by offering a sum of chips, one or more, asla challenge,

against anyone who thinks he has a stronger punch hand. The challenge goes around from the dealers left. Each player has a chance to enter into the bidding. If a player Wants to accept the last challenge made, he says I Accept. As the challenge proceeds around the board,

(Blue The deal begins at the dealers left and continues around until all cards have the chips from the 9 corner.

a player may raise the previous bid if he has a punch combination which may be better. A player who does not hold a'punch combination may drop out by saying Nullo.

, The challenge goes round and round, stopping when two or more players agree to a challenge and there are no further raises.

The raising of a challenge shall never continue until all other players become Nullo. There must be two or more to meet a challenge.

The one and only time one player may take all the tokens in the punch bowl without a challenger" is when the original challenger does not get a competitor, He then takes all the chips from the punch bowl without question or exposing his hand.

, Thos players who have dropped out by saying Nullo do not add anychips to the punch bowl. Only those 'who stay in the bidding and meet the final challenge are required to put the amount bid in the Punch Bowl. The punch hands are then exposed. The player who has the highest hand gets all the tokens from the Bunch Bowl (Use Punch Scale).

Special note on Pzmh. After the bidding has started, when a player raises a bid and all other players say Nullo, leaving only the one challenger without a cornpetit'o'r, the bidding drops to where it was before the last raise. Then the last Nullos will be compelled to agree to the last bid accepted. Example: Well say that 12 'people are playing. Six players have dropped out by saying Nullo when the bidding reached 45. Now player 6 raises the bid to 50. Then players H, I, J, K all say Accept, meaning that they meet the challenge of 50. But player L raises to 55. Then players G, H, I, l, and all say Nullo.

These five nullos void the raise of 55 and the bid drops to 50. The last challengers G, H, I, l, K and L must accept and each puts 59 tokens in the bowl. The highest Punch combination (See Punch scale) wins all the tokens in the Punch Bowl.

Note.-The highest bidder cannot raise his own challenge after it has been accepted, with no further raises 'by other players.

SECOND COLLECTION The dealer calls for the plus cards of the master suit by ordering each person to make his claim. All players who hold plus cards of the master suit must show them. Then the dealer delivers the chips from the board to each person who holds a plus card of the master suit. Each player is given chips from the board from the sections corresponding to thenurnbers on the plus cards in his WHAT TODO ABOUT CORNERS The chips in the corners are collected by persons hold ing the two plus cards corresponding to the figures shown in the corners. illustration: When a player holds in his hand plus 9 Blue, also plus 9 Red, he collects The player who holds +20 Red also +20 Blue collects the chips from the 29 corner. The same applies to the other corners-l and However, when no player holds the two plus cards corresponding to the corners, the chips in the corners which are unclairned are shifted to the adioiniug pools by the dealer. The shifting of the chips from the corners (then grow until the end of the game.

3 PLAYING FOR THE POOLS After the players have dealt an equal number of times, once, twice or as many times as agreed upon by the players, the game is ended by playing off the pools, in the following manner. Beginning with the dealer, cards shall be played to "the Punch Bowl until four persons have discarded all their cards. The first person who discards all his cards gets all the chips in the largest pool. The second person who discards all his cards gets all the chips from the next-smaller pool. The third and fourth persons collect the next two smaller pools. if all pools contain the same amount, either poo'l may be taken by the first to discard.

PLAYING POOL The discard is done in the following mannervThe dealer begins by discarding to the Punch Bowl the lowest card in his hand in the master suit. The discard may be made from either branch (plus or r'ninus). it the dealer does not hold a card in the .maste'r suit, then the first person on his left who does hold a card in the master suit shall begin the discard by playing the lowest. The discard shall continue consecutively (in numerical order) until four cards of the same branch have been played. The dealer keeps the Punch Bowl clean after each four cards have been played. The person who plays the last of the four cards shall begin the next discard in a difterent branch. Each time a discard is made the player must call the name of the card. The discard shall always be done in fours.

lllustrdti0n,- When thaleadiug discard is +8. Blue, it shall be followed by +9 Blue, +10 Blue, +20 Blue. The player who discards +20 Blue shall make the next lead with a change of branch, as +1 Blue, which is followed -by '2 Blue, -3 Blue, 4 Blue. The player who discards -4 Blue makes the next lead. When four consecutive card's cannot be "discarded for the reason that the higher card has been played, or because the discard started high, then the sequence shall break at three cards, two cards, or one card. However, in each case the person playing the last card in the four shall begin the next discard. v I

I llzlstralion'.The player Whom we shall call G makes a lead by discarding 3 Blue. 4 Blue has already been discarded. Therefore G makes another discard, playing the lowest card in another branch. The player G discards -25 Red which is the lowest card he holds in his hand in the Minus Red branch. Since "25 isthe highest card in the branch, no player can follow. There fore G has another chance to discard. Hethen discards +2 Red. He also holds +3 Red which he discards. G has discarded 'four cards. This completes the fourrun.

In view of thefact that G playedthe last card in the four-run, he himselffrnakes the next lead, if he can change branches. (If G cannot change branches, the lead passes to the first player on the left of G, who can change branches, meaning a different branch from the last oneplayed by G which was the +Red branch).

However, G can change branches. Therefore, he does make the next lead, playing 6 Blue. Another player whom we shall call H discards 7 Blue. -'8 Blue has already been discarded, so .H discards again. He discards 3 Red. B disc'ards 4 Red. This comple'tes the four run. B, thelast player in the four-run makes the next lead and changes branches from -Red,

No'te-The same rule applies "when aplayer discards our consecutive cards, as +1 Red, +2 Red, +3 Red, +4 Red. The four-run is discarded by one person and he has a chance to make another lead, provided he can change branches. The first player who discards allhis cards lets it be known by saying Pool. He wins all the chips in the largest pool. The discard continues until four persons have discarded all their ,cards, winning the 'chips in the pools from the largest to the smallest.

The winner of the game is the player who collects the most chips over the amount he put in the game.

Nte.--When a player wins a pool, the next lead is made by the first player on his left. The First (only the first) card played after a pool is won may or may not be played from a difierent branch.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A gameboard comprising a substantially rectangular board, a central rectangular portion of said board designating a Punch Bowl playing area and outlined with grooves in said board, a pair of playing sections disposed on each side of said central portion and having inlaid indicia therein designating the sections as Pool sections, opposite pairs of corner playing areas on said board positioned at the diagonal extremities of said central portion and outlined with grooves forming continuations of the outlining grooves of said central portion, and a plurality of grooves forming squares out of the area between a pair of corner playing areas, the area between the opposite pair of corner playing areas being divided into a plurality of non-rectangular areas having indicia markings thereon of various numerical values, and a deck of game cards for use with a gameboard of the type described comprising a multiplicity of cards of a plurality of sets, each set containing the same number of cards, each set of cards having numerical indicia of various consecutive values and of the same values as the numerical indicia of the gameboard, and each set of cards being of a color different from that of another set.

2. A gameboard comprising a substantially rectangular board, a central rectangular portion of said board designating a Punch Bowl playing area and outlined with grooves in said board, a pair or" playing sections disposed on each side of said central portion and having inlaid indicia therein designating the sections as Pool sections, opposite pairs of corner playing areas on said board positioned at the diagonal extremities of said central portion and outlined with grooves forming continuations of the outlining grooves of said central portion, and a plurality of grooves forming squares out of the area between a pair of corner playing areas, the area between the opposite pair of corner playing areas being divided into a plurality of non-rectangular areas having indicia markings thereon of various numerical values, said corner playing areas all being provided with numerical indicia of different denominations, and a deck of game cards for use with a gameboard of the type described comprising a multiplicity of cards of a plurality of sets, each set containing the same number of cards, each set of cards having numerical indicia of various consecutive values and of the same values as the numerical indicia of the gameboard, and each set of cards being of a color difierent from that of another set.

3. A gameboard comprising a substantially rectangular board, a central rectangular portion of said board designating a Punch Bowl playing area and outlined with grooves in said board, a pair of playing sections disposed on each side of said central portion and having inlaid indicia therein designating the sections as Pool sections, opposite pairs of corner playing areas on said board positioned at the diagonal extremities of said central portion and outlined with grooves forming continuations of the outlining grooves of said central portion, and a plurality of grooves forming squares out of the area between a pair of corner playing areas, the area between the opposite pair of corner playing areas being divided into a plurality of non-rectangular areas having indicia markings thereon of various numerical values, said corner playing areas all being provided with numerical indicia of different denominations, each of said corner playing areas being divided into two sections each having indicia designating Positive values, and each of said Positive values in the same area being of a different color, and a deck of game cards for use with a gameboard of the type described 10 comprising a multiplicity of cards of a plurality of sets, each set containing the same number of cards, each set of cards having numerical indicia of various consecutive values and of the same values as the numerical indicia of the gameboard, and each set of cards being of a color different from that of another set.

4. A gameboard comprising a substantially rectangular board, a central rectangular portion of said board designating a Punch Bowl playing area and outlined with grooves in said board, a pair of playing sections disposed on each side of said central portion and having inlaid indicia therein designating the sections as Pool seections, opposite pairs of corner playing areas on said board positioned at the diagonal extremities of said central portion and outlined with grooves forming continuations of the outlining grooves of said central portion, and a plurality of grooves forming squares out of the area between a pair of corner playing areas, the area between the opposite pair of corner playing areas being divided into a plurality of non-rectangular areas having indicia markings thereon of various numerical values, and a deck of game cards for use with a gameboard of the type described comprising a multiplicity of cards of a plurality of sets, each set containing the same number of cards, each set of cards having numerical indicia of various consecutive values and of the same values as the numerical indicia of the gameboard, and each set of cards being of a color different from that of another set, Positive indicia on a pair of sets, and Negative indicia on another pair of sets.

5. A gameboard comprising a substantially rectangular board, a central rectangular portion of said board designating a Punch Bowl playing area and outlined with grooves in said board, a pair of playing sections disposed on each side of said central portion and having inlaid indicia therein designating the sections as Pool sections, opposite pairs of corner playing areas on said board positioned at the diagonal extremities of said central portion and outlined with grooves forming continuations of the outlining grooves of said central portion, a plurality of grooves forming squares out of the area between a pair of corner playing areas, the area between the opposite pair of corner playing areas being divided into a plurality of non-rectangular areas having indicia markings thereon of various numerical values, said corner playing areas all being provided with numerical indicia of different denominations, each of said corner playing areas being divided into two sections each having indicia designating Positive values, and each of said Positive values in the same area being of a different color, and a deck of game cards for use with a gameboard of the type described comprising a multiplicity of cards of a plurality of sets, each set containing the same number of cards, each set of cards having numerical indicia of various consecutive values and of the same values as the numerical indicia of the gameboard, and each set of cards being of a color difierent from that of another set, Positive indicia on a pair of sets, and Negative indicia on another pair of sets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 660,004 Christie Oct. 16, 1900 1,176,810 Batcheler Mar. 28, 1916 1,215,657 Hicks Feb. 13, 1917 1,337,274 Rosenberger Apr. 20, 1920 1,365,561 Sterling Jan. 11, 1921 1,388,505 Bamforth Aug. 23, 1921 1,723,377 Salomon Aug. 6, 1929 2,296,904 Brown Sept. 29, 1942 2,355,785 Dorfman Aug. 15, 1944 2,380,106 Hilton July 10, 1945 2,409,584 Peterman Oct. 15, 1946 OTHER REFERENCES Quinn: Gambling and Gambling Devices, pages 55, 117 and 121-126. 

